Handling of sample tubes comprising geometric tube data

ABSTRACT

A method for handling a sample tube containing a biological sample is presented. A tube label can be attached to the sample tube. The tube label can carry tube data. The tube data can comprise at least geometric tube data descriptive of at least one geometric property of the sample tube. At least the geometric tube data can be read from the tube label by a reader device. At least the geometric tube data from the reader device can be transmitted to a processing device. The processing device for handling the sample tube can be controlled in accordance with the at least one geometric property described by the read geometric data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/159,898, filed Jan. 21, 2014, now allowed, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/596,199, filed on Aug. 28, 2012, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,672, 219, which claims priority to EP 11183365.3, filedSep. 29, 2011, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of in vitrodiagnostics and, in particular, to a system and method for automaticallyhandling biological samples.

Clinical laboratories face the challenge of having to process anincreasing number of sample tubes per day while still having toguarantee that the analytical results derived from the samples arereproducible and correct. Errors may arise both in the pre-analytical,analytical and post-analytical stage of a potentially highly complexsample processing workflow. An additional challenge is the fact that ahuge variety of different sample types exist which further complicatethe handling and automated processing of the samples. In one aspect, thediversity of the sample tubes results from the diversity of sampleprocessing workflows and tests which have meanwhile been developed forvarious diagnostic, analytical or other purposes.

In another aspect, the diversity results from different samplemanufacturers using different materials, sample tube dimensions and capcolor codes for collecting and processing different kinds of biologicalsamples (e.g. blood, urine, serum or plasma samples) and/or fordifferent kinds of analytical tests (coagulation tests, clinicalchemistry tests, hematological tests, etc.). To meet the requirements inrespect to analysis quality and cost effectiveness, intelligentsolutions in the field of automated sample-handling devices arerequired.

Current pre-and post-analytical systems as well as analyzers requireinformation on tube geometry, sample type, target volumes, cap type etc.in order to correctly handle and process sample tubes. In currentsystems, this information is gathered by cameras and/or sensors, or isdefined by a user manually. Any manually executed step is, however,error prone and time consuming and therefore not suitable forimplementing a high-quality sample processing workflow. Image analysisbased approaches are often time consuming and may be error-prone. Errorsmay occur when frozen or very cold samples comprising ice orcondensation water on their surface need to be processed. Ice and watermay change the shape and optical parameters of a sample tube and maycause errors when an image is taken from such a sample for imageanalysis. Errors may also be caused by tubes sitting not vertically butdiagonally in the rack, by a too weak light source being inadequate forletting the camera reliably detect the color of the tube or of the tubecap or may be caused by the tube protruding from the tube rack or byother error sources.

Therefore, there is a need to provide for an improved method and systemfor sample tube and sample tube handling.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, a method for handling a sample tubecontaining a biological sample is presented. A tube label can beattached to the sample tube. The tube label can carry tube data. Thetube data can comprise at least geometric tube data descriptive of atleast one geometric property of the sample tube. At least the geometrictube data can be read from the tube label by a reader device. At leastthe geometric tube data from the reader device can be transmitted to aprocessing device. The processing device for handling the sample tubecan be controlled in accordance with the at least one geometric propertydescribed by the read geometric data.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a systemfor processing sample tubes is also presented.

Accordingly, it is a feature of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure to provide for an improved method and system for sample tubeand sample tube handling. Other features of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be apparent in light of the description of thedisclosure embodied herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be best understood when read in conjunction withthe following drawings, where like structure is indicated with likereference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for automatically handling asample tube containing a biological sample according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a system comprising a plurality ofsample tubes, a reader device and a processing device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 a illustrates a sample tube comprising a barcode label accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 b illustrates a sample tube comprising an RFID circuit accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates various parts of a sample tube according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates schematically a system comprising a plurality ofsample tubes, a reader device and another processing device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in whichare shown by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, specificembodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical,mechanical and electrical changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure.

A ‘sample’ or ‘biological sample’ can encompass any kind of tissue, orbody fluid, derived from humans or any other organism. In one example, abiological sample can be a whole blood, serum, plasma, urine, cerebralspinal fluid, saliva sample or any derivatives thereof.

A ‘sample tube’, herein interchangeably referred to as ‘tube’, which canbe either a sample collection test tube, also called ‘primary tube’,used to receive a sample such as a blood sample from a patient and totransport the sample contained therein to an analytical laboratory fordiagnostic purposes, or a ‘secondary tube’, used to receive an aliquotof sample from a primary tube. A primary sample tube is typically madeof glass or plastics, has a closed end and an open end, wherein theclosed end can be closed by a cap. The cap may be of differentmaterials, different shapes and color. The shape and/or color of the capand/or the shape and/or color of the tube may be indicative of the typeof the tube, the type of the biological sample contained therein and/orof the pre-analytical, analytical or post-analytical procedure to beexecuted on the sample. There are, for example, tubes containing ananticoagulant or a coagulation inducing agent, tubes containing gelsfacilitating the separation of plasma, etc. Different types of primarytubes are often just the result of customization by different primarytube manufacturers. For example, there are primary tubes of differentdiameters and/or different heights for receiving different amounts ofsamples. A ‘secondary tube’ is typically made of plastics and may have alower degree of variation of size and type with respect to primarytubes. For example, secondary tubes may be smaller than primary tubesand may be designed to be closed with one type of similar types ofclosure, e.g. of the screw type.

The term ‘cap’ as used herein can encompass any type of closurecomprising screw type caps and rubber stoppers, which can be openedand/or closed by a pulling/pushing and/or a screwing motionrespectively.

A ‘robotic unit’ as used herein can be any kind of device, or devicecomponent that can automatically execute a sample workflow step on asample tube.

The expression ‘tube type’ can refer to a category of sample tubes witha shared geometrical form, for example, the width, geometric shape,and/or height of the cap and/or the tube, etc. Commonly, but notnecessarily, a shared geometrical form of a sample tube also correspondsto a shared type of sample to be carried by the sample tube type and/orcorresponds to a shared type of analysis or pre-or post-analyticalworkflow step to be executed on the samples of the tube type. Differenttube types typically are adapted for different pre-analytical,post-analytical or analytical requirements of a particular analysis orworkflow step, e.g. a clinical chemistry analysis, a hematologicalanalysis or a coagulation analysis. A mix up of sample tube types canmake samples unusable for the scheduled analysis. To prevent errors inthe collection and handling of samples, the sample caps of many tubemanufacturers are encoded according to a fixed and uniform color scheme.

A ‘processing device,’ or ‘workcell,’ can be a standalone apparatus or amodule within a larger instrument assisting users with sampleprocessing. ‘Sample processing’ can comprise the detection, for example,quantitative and/or quantitative evaluation of samples for diagnosticpurpose, and/or sorting and/or preparation of samples before detection,or storing and/or disposal of samples after detection. For example, aworkcell can be related to analytical and/or pre-analytical and/orpost-analytical sample processing steps, the steps being subsumed hereinas ‘in vitro’ steps. Workcells may connect to each other and depend atleast in part on each other, for example, each carrying out a dedicatedtask of a sample processing workflow, which may be a prerequisite beforeproceeding to the next workcell. Alternatively, workcells may workindependently from each other, for example, each carrying out a separatetask or a different type of analysis. A ‘processing device’ may be, forexample, a capping unit, a de-capping unit, an aliquoter, a centrifugeor the like.

In one aspect, a method for handling a sample tube containing abiological sample is presented. A tube label is attached to the sampletube. The tube label carries tube data. Tube data can comprise at leastgeometric tube data descriptive of at least one geometric property ofthe sample tube. At least the geometric tube data is read from the tubelabel by a reader device. At least the geometric tube data istransmitted from the reader device to a processing device. Theprocessing device for handling the sample tube is controlled inaccordance with the at least one geometric property described by theread geometric data.

These features may be advantageous, because placing geometric tube dataof a biological sample tube on the sample tube, it can be ensured thatthe geometric data is available throughout the whole sample processingworkflow. In some systems using color encoded caps for identifying thesample tube type, information on the tube type may get lost when thesample tube is de-capped. Placing the geometric data on the sample tubecan help ensure a fully automated processing of the sample and thatuncapped tubes will not lose information on their geometric properties.Thus, the speed and cost-effectiveness of the sample handling workflowcan be increased and the error proneness of the sample handling processcan be reduced.

In other words, the geometrical data as the data being actually neededfor a fully automated processing can be an inherent part of the tube andcannot be lost. According to further embodiments, a tube type identifiercan be placed on the tube label in addition to the geometric data and/orcan be derived in a second step from the geometric data read from thetube label. By deriving a tube type from the geometric data (and not, asin some systems, by deriving the geometric data from a detected tubetype), it can also help guaranteed that the information on the tube typeis not lost when a tube is, for example, decapped. As the tube typeaccording to some of the embodiments can be a derivative of thegeometric data and not vice versa, an extra level of security can beadded to the system ensuring that the geometric data of a tube willalways be available irrespective of its capping status.

In a further aspect, other embodiments may skip identifying a particularsample type first (for example, based on a color type or based on a tubetype identifier printed on the sample tube) and gathering in a secondstep geometrical data for the identified sample tube type. By directlyreading geometric properties from the tube label, the processing timerequired for gathering the geometrical data required by a samplehandling unit can be reduced. In addition, the acquisition of thegeometric data can be more error robust because the geometricalinformation is directly derived from the sample tube and not indirectlyfrom an external storage having stored geometrical data in associationwith a sample type identifier. Thus, embodiments are not require tomaintain a database with stored sample type identifiers corresponding togeometrical data or to maintain a connection to the database.Maintaining such a database is often not even possible as taking thesample and testing are done at different locations under the authorityof different parties.

In a further aspect, embodiments can be much more flexible as they areable to dynamically determine the geometrical properties of a huge rangeof sample tubes. Thus, generic sample handling workcell components canbe used which are not limited to sample tubes of a particular type or ofa particular sample manufacturer. Thus, generic sample tube handlingcomponents can be combined with any kind of pre-analytic, analytic andpost-analytic sample handling workcells or components thereof, becausethey can operate with any kind of sample tube type provided said sampletubes comprise a label specifying the geometric data of the sampletubes.

In a further aspect, embodiments can help guarantee that whenever aparticular biological sample arrives at the input portion of a samplehandling device, the geometric data required by the device for handlingthe sample can also be available. In some systems, the operation ofcomplex automated sample workcells could be interrupted in case a sampleof a wrong or unknown sample type was erroneously placed into the sampleprocessing pipeline, because no geometrical data could be found for thesample of the unknown sample type. By using sample tubes withgeometrical data on their labels, it can help ensure that all theinformation required to decide whether and how the sample tube should behandled by a particular sample handling device can always be available.Thus, bottlenecks in a processing workflow caused by an unidentifiedtube type can be avoided.

Disadvantages of camera-based systems, in particular, an inaccuratedetermination of a tube geometry, inaccurate determination of the volumeof a sample due to unknown internal tube geometry, and an inaccuratedetermination of a spun or unspun tube state due to the opacity of thesample can be avoided. Camera based determination of a cap color fordetermining the tube type which again is used for determining the tubegeometry has been turned out to be error prone and as soon as the cap isremoved the tube type information is lost.

In a further aspect, updating a tube type library on a regular basis canmade be unnecessary. If, for example, a tube manufacturer produces acompletely new kind of tube whose geometric properties such as itsdiameter are stored or encoded in the tube label, a processing devicedoes not have to be reprogrammed in order to “identify” the new tubetype because the geometric data actually used for sample tube processingcan be directly derived from the tube label. Thus, the processing devicedoes not have to access a tube type library for retrieving geometricdata stored in association with the identified sample type andaccordingly there may not be a need to update such a tube type libraryon a regular basis. In summary, embodiments create and operate samplehandling systems which can automatically determine the requiredgeometric properties of any kind of tube type without having to maintainand query a tube type library. Provided the tube manufacturer, oranother instance, has attached a tube label comprising geometric tubedata encoded in a way enabling the reader device to interpret the data,any kind of new sample tube type can immediately and automatically berecognizable and processed by the sample handling system. It may not berequired to update any sample tube type library with new tube typescreated by the tube manufacturer.

The term ‘geometric tube data’, as used herein, can encompass any databeing descriptive of a geometric property of the whole tube or partsthereof, in particular data being descriptive of a geometric property ofthe tube shaft and/or tube cap or a combination thereof.

According to embodiments, the geometric property can be encoded in a barcode encoding standard such as, for example, PDF417, Codebloc or thelike. This may be advantageous, because in case the tube typemanufacturer and the sample processing device manufacturer use the sameencoding/decoding standard, a workcell based on the encoding schema canbe operable to process any kind of tube type. The only requirement canbe that the tube's geometric properties are encoded in accordance withthe standard (and that the tube dimensions lie within the physicalpossibilities of the processing device).

According to embodiments, the tube data can comprise one or more of thefollowing geometric properties of the sample tube: outer tube diameter,inner tube diameter, false bottom location and shape, tube length,diameter of tube cap, and/or free height of tube cap.

The geometric properties can be provided in different ways. According toone embodiment, a geometric property can, for example, be provided in anincremental way. An upper or lower limit of a geometric property (i.e.,the maximum or minimum value of the geometric property that a tube typecan possibly have for being processed by the system, for example, innertube diameter or tube length) can be known to a reader of a sample tubeprocessing system which can read the geometric properties from a tubelabel. Alternatively, the limit can be known to a processing device, orcomputation unit, connected to the sample processing system andreceiving tube data comprising the geometric properties from the reader.

‘To be known’ to a component as used herein implies that the data can bestored on a data storage being accessible and readable by the component.An increment of the geometric property can be encoded on the tube label.The value of the geometric property for the individual tube can then bedetermined by the reader, computation unit or processing device byadding (in case of a lower limit) or subtracting (in case of an upperlimit) the increment to/from the limit.

In another embodiment, the value of geometric data can be stored on thetube label in the form of a numerical value. It can be possible that thenumerical value does not have assigned a unit in the tube data and thatthe number can be interpreted after having been read by the reader as avalue of a particular unit, e.g. millimeter. Likewise, the unit of thenumerical value may be stored on the tube label as well.

The type of the geometric property can be encoded in the tube label. Thetype of the geometric property may, for example, be based on theposition of a data value within the tube label and/or the positionwithin a character sequence or data pattern contained on the tube label.For example, the first position in a sequence of numbers may comprise avalue specifying the geometric property value type ‘inner diameter’, thesecond position may comprise a value specifying the geometric propertytype ‘tube length’ etc. Alternatively, the type of the geometricproperty can be provided on the tube label together with the value ofthe geometric property.

Table 1 shows an example for the above described coding schemes. Var2 isan incremental geometric property having assigned a minimum value and amaximum value for some geometry features. The tube label can carry theincrement of the tube to which it is attached and the actual geometrycan be determined by adding the increment to the Min value. In the shownexample, the increment is 1 but it can be a multiple of 1 as well. Var3provides the geometric parameters as plain numeric values and the readercan determine the type of geometric property which the numeric valuerepresents due to the position of the numeric value in the sequence ofnumbers. In Var 4, an alphanumeric header can be provided in addition tothe numeric value which describes the type of the geometric propertywhose value is indicated by the corresponding numerical value. Table 1also depicts the number of Bits which can be needed to encode therespective information. For Var2, 21 Bits (3 Bytes) are needed while forVar3, 10 and for Var 4, 15 Bytes are needed on the label.

TABLE 1 Var2 Var3 Var4 Feature Unit Min Max Increment States BitNumerics Numerics alpha header Diameter [mm] 10 20 1 10 4 2 2 1 Length[mm] 50 120 1 70 7 3 3 1 False bottom [mm] 0 30 1 30 5 2 2 1 Taperdegree 0 5 1 5 3 2 2 1 Cap type — 1 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 Sum 21 10 10 5 Byte 3Sum Num. 15

Table 2 shows the label size for a two dimensional barcode which isneeded to encode the data of the above variants. In addition to thegeometric data the space needed for a unique tube ID is also considered.It can be seen that the resulting label sizes fit well with the spaceavailable on sample tubes. Label of these sizes can be read byconventional two dimensional (2D) barcode readers even though whenapplied to cylindrical sample tube surfaces.

TABLE 2 Topic Unit Var2 Unit Var 3 Var 4 ID bytes 4 num. 10 10 Tube geobytes 3 num. 10 15 Total label size** mm 3.7 × 3.7 mm 3.7 × 3.7 4.1 ×4.1

According to some embodiments, the processing device can comprise agripper having an opening position for receiving or releasing the sampletube or a cap of the sample and a gripping position for gripping thesample tube or a cap of the sample. At least the gripping position canbe adjusted depending on the at least one geometric property. Accordingto some embodiments, the gripper can be a tube gripper or a cap gripper.The system may also comprise any combination of one or more tubegrippers, cap grippers or other forms of gripping devices controlled independence on geometrical data specified in the tube label. For example,the opening position may be a default position of a robotic gripper arm.According to some embodiments, both the opening and the grippingposition can be adjusted depending on the geometric property. It may beadvantageous to use an opening position whose gripping arm diameter isonly slightly larger than the cap diameter of the tube in order torelease the tube. Provided that the next sample tube processed has thesame or a similar cap diameter like the previously processed tube, thegripping arm may be able to adjust its gripping diameter more quickly.

The term ‘position’ as used herein can be considered as anyconfiguration, or state, of a robotic device or device component used tointeract with and/or process a sample tube. A ‘gripping position’ can bea state, or configuration, allowing for the execution of the processingstep while an ‘opening position’ can be a state or configurationallowing the release of the sample tube for further processing by otherdevice components. The tube data may enable the gripper to automaticallydetermine how and where to grip a tube and may enable a capper orde-capper to determine what caps are on a tube and to adjust the cappingor de-capping mechanics accordingly.

According to some embodiments, the processing device can be a de-capperor a re-capper comprising a tube gripper and a cap gripper. The tubegripper can be controlled depending on the geometric property of thesample tube's shape and the cap gripper can be controlled in accordancewith a geometric property of the tube cap.

According to some embodiments, the tube gripper can comprise a firsttube gripping tool and a second tube gripping tool. The first tubegripping tool can be biased with respect to the second gripping tool andcan cooperate with that second tube gripping tool such that the firsttube gripping tool can grip and lift that tube, for example, from aconveyor belt, or rack, before the second gripping tool grips it. Bysuch sequence, it can be achieved that the second gripping tool can gripwith a force and a surface of contact which can be greater than theforce and surface of contact of the first gripping tool respectively.This double gripping mechanism can enable gripping the sidewall of atube in the often narrow space between a tube carrier and a closure witha smaller gripper and lifting it to a height wherein a larger andstronger gripping tool can grip a longer portion of the sidewall for amore secure grip.

According to some embodiments, the processing device can be an automatedcentrifuge comprising a loading station for loading sample tubes intothe centrifuge. The loading station can comprise a gripper. The grippercan be controlled to place the sample tube into a centrifugation bucketdepending on the read geometric tube data. This may be advantageous,because in several cases, similar or identical centrifugation programsmay be applicable to multiple different biological samples contained indifferent tube types. Provided that the diameter and weight of thedifferent sample tubes including their respective samples areapproximately equal, loading them together into the same centrifugebased on shared geometrical tube data may increase the efficiency ofsample handling workflows comprising centrifugation.

According to some embodiments, the geometric data can be used fordetermining the weight of the loaded samples. The determined weightagain can be used for loading samples of approximately equal weight intocentrifuge buckets lying oppositely to each other. In other words, thegeometric data specified in tube labels of a plurality of sample tubescan be evaluated to distribute the sample tubes into buckets of acentrifuge automatically in a balanced way. Loading the centrifuge in abalanced way implies that the sample tubes inserted in opposing bucketsof a centrifuge rotor are of largely equal weight, thus avoidingunbalancing the centrifuge. The weight can be, depending on theembodiment, be derived for example, by the geometric data specifying theinner dimensions of the tube in combination with a measured weight ofthe tube including its sample.

According to further embodiments, loading the centrifuge in a balancedway may be achieved even without assistance of a scale by determining,by the sensor or another optical reader device, the filling level of asample in the sample tube and reading, by the reader device, at leastgeometrical data from the sample's tube label indicative of thegeometric properties of the tube to allow for the calculation of theinner volume of the tube. The properties may be, for example, the tubediameter such as, for example, the inner tube diameter. The outerdiameter may also allow for the calculation of the approximate innertube volume. The determined filling level and the read geometric dataindicative of the geometric properties can be used as input to calculatethe actual volume of the sample contained in the sample tube. Assumingthat the density of all samples is identical or approximately identicalfor all samples, samples of approximately equal volume can be treated assamples of approximately equal weight and can be loaded automaticallyinto opposing buckets of the centrifuge rotor. In case samples ofsignificantly different density are scheduled for collectivecentrifugation, in an additional step, the density can be taken asadditional input parameter to calculate the weight of the samples fromtheir respective volume and density and to load samples of approximatelyequal weight into opposing buckets of the centrifuge. The densityinformation may, according to some embodiments, also be specified on thetube label. The features may be advantageous as they allow the loadingof centrifuges in a balanced and fully automated way without the needfor an additional device component (a scale) and without losing time forphysical weighting.

According to some embodiments, the sample tube can have a screw cap. Thetube data can comprise tube cap data indicative of the number of turnsrequired to take the screw cap off the sample tube. The processingdevice can be a de-capper comprising a cap gripper. The cap gripper canbe controlled to turn the screw cap the number of turns indicated by theread tube cap data.

According to some embodiments, the method can further comprisedetermining the approximate weight of the empty sample tube by using theread geometric properties or by reading the weight of the empty sampletube from the tube label by the reader device, weighing the sample tubecontaining the biological sample, and determining the weight differencebetween the empty sample tube and the sample tube containing thebiological sample.

The determination of the approximate weight of the empty sample tube byusing the read geometric properties may comprise calculating the volumeof the glass or plastic material the sample tube is made of, forexample, by using the inner and outer diameter of the sample tube aswell as the tube height as input. Given the calculated volume and giventhe density of glass or the plastic, the weight of the tube can becalculated. According to other embodiments, the weight of the sampletube may be specified in the tube data. For example, a first weightinformation indicative of the weight of the empty sample tube can beread from the tube data. Then, the tube comprising the whole bloodsample can be weighted and a second weight information can be obtained.The difference between the first and the second weight information canbe indicative of the weight of the sample.

According to some embodiments, the method can further comprisesdetermining the filling level of the sample tube by using the weightdifference and the geometric properties of the sample tube. For example,from the known density of a particular sample type such as whole bloodand from the determined sample weight, the volume of the whole bloodsample, for example, in the unit “milliliter”, can be calculated. Byreading further geometric properties of the sample tube, such as, itsinner diameter, the filling level of the sample tube can be calculated.This feature can be advantageous as it may be automatically and reliablydetermine the filling level even in case the sample tube surface iscovered by water, ice or other substances hampering image-analysis basedfilling level determination. The determined filling level may allow afurther sample processing unit to aliquot the sample without sucking inelements of a centrifugation pellet and without sucking in air by apipet tip having been erroneously been positioned above the meniscus ofthe sample.

According to an embodiment, the reader can be an optical reader or anRFID reader.

According to an embodiment, the tube label can comprise an opticallyreadable pattern, such as a barcode, such as, for example, atwo-dimensional bar code.

A ‘barcode’ can be an optical machine-readable representation of data. Abarcode can be, for example, a 1-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional(2D) bar code. A linear barcode may comprise a set of parallel lines ofvarying width and spacings. A two-dimensional barcodes may compriserectangles, polygons or other geometric patterns arranged in twodimensions. Data stored in barcodes can be read by optical readerdevices also referred to as scanners.

Using a 2D barcode may be advantageous, because the information density,i.e., the amount of information per surface area of the sample tube, canallow for storing all of the information needed to process a particularsample tube type properly. For example, a 2D barcode specifying theexact height and wall thickness of a sample tube may drastically reducethe dead volume. In a further advantageous aspect, 2D barcodes can beparticularly robust in respect to the gamma irradiation commonly used bytube manufacturers for sterilizing the manufactured and typicallyalready packed sample tubes. According to some embodiments, a 5mm×5 mmsized bar code can comprise all geometric data necessary for ade-capping or capping unit to automatically and correctly de-cap orre-cap the sample tube.

According to some embodiments, the 2D barcode can be a data matrix code.A data matrix code is a square 2D barcode comprising a plurality ofsquare-shaped code elements scattered over the square area, wherein thescattering of the code elements can specify the data content of the datamatrix code.

According to some embodiments, a scanner can read the optically readablepattern and transmits this pattern in the form of image data, forexample, in a jpg or other image format, to an image analysis component.The transmission may be push- or pull based. The image analysiscomponent may be part of the scanner (i.e., part of the reading device),part of the processing device or a part of a software componentconnected to the scanner and/or the processing system. The softwarecomponent may be a middleware component of the laboratory, or a moduleof the laboratory information system (LIS) of the laboratory. The imageanalysis can evaluate this pattern for determining the geometric tubeproperties encoded therein.

According to some embodiments, an antenna can be attached to the sampletube. The tube label can comprise a sender for sending the tube data viathe antenna.

According to some embodiments, the tube label can comprise an RFIDcircuit, such as, for example, a printed polymer electronic circuit.Using an RFID circuit may be advantageous because reading data from thechips is particularly robust against optically distorting effects suchas ice or condensation water on the surface resulting from freezing asample or from moving a frozen or cooled sample to a warm and humidenvironment. Using polymer electronic circuit may be particularlyadvantageous because such kind of circuits are robust against opticallydistorting effects and are also robust against damage caused by gammairradiation applied during sterilization of the sample tubes.

According to some embodiments, the tube data can be printed or otherwiseattached by the tube manufacturer on the sample tube after havingaccomplished the manufacturing process and before sterilization of thetubes.

According to some embodiments, the sample tube can be a false bottomtube and the tube geometric tube data, in addition, can comprisegeometric properties of the false bottom, such as for example, thepresence and/or position of the false bottom within the tube shaft. Afalse bottom can often be used for smaller liquid volumes when the outertube shape is compatible with the regular processing tools. A processingunit pipetting liquid into such a false bottom tube or sucking liquidfrom the false bottom tube may need to automatically take the positionof such a bottom into consideration to avoid perforating the bottom andfor minimizing the dead volume. Thus, specifying the geometricproperties of the false bottom tube may be advantageous as the dataallows a fully automated and secure handling of false bottom tubes inaddition to the ‘conventional bottom tubes’. According to someembodiments, the reader device can evaluate the tube data for anyspecifications of geometric properties of a false bottom. In case thereader device, the controller or any other system componentautomatically determines the filling level from the geometric data, thegeometric properties of the false bottom can be additional informationfor calculating the filling level in relation to the false bottomcorrectly.

According to some embodiments, the tube data can further compriseinformation on the presence, and optionally also on the position of aseparator gel layer, on the cap design (Hemogard, Sarstedt, screw-cap,etc) and/or a tube type identifier.

According to further embodiments, the tube label in addition cancomprise a pattern which changes upon application of a g-force over aminimum period of time and/or exceeding minimum g-force strength.Depending on the embodiment, an existing g-force sensitive pattern, forexample, a further bar code section of the tube label, may be destroyedas the result of applying the g-force. Alternatively, a new pattern maybecome visible on a previously homogeneously colored tube label areaupon applying the g-force, or a previously existing pattern in the areamay be altered. Such a g-force sensitive tube label area is described,for example, in the EP patent application EP12818404 which is herebyincluded in its entirety by reference. The g-force sensitive pattern maylikewise represent other forms of 2D codes, for example, matrix codes.

The features may be advantageous as camera based determination of thespun/unspun state of a sample tube tends to be error prone. By includinga g-force sensitive label area in the tube label, static geometricproperties of the tube can be combined with dynamically changinginformation on the tube state (spun/unspun) and both kinds of data canbe made accessible to a reading device such as a bar code reader for afully automated sample handling. This can avoid errors caused in asystem when spun and unspun samples are pre-sorted manually or camerabased. In a further advantageous aspect, systems already comprising anoptical reading device such as a bar code scanner do not require anyadditional hardware component for determining the spun/unspun tubestate.

According to some embodiments, a plurality of the sample tubes can behandled by the processing device. The at least one geometric property ofeach of the sample tube tubes can have any value within a predefinedrange irrespective of predefined sample tube types.

This may be advantageous, as several sample tube processing steps maysolely depend on some geometric properties but not on a scheduled sampleprocessing step (e.g. a particular analysis) or on the sample type. Forexample, a sample sorting unit may use the read geometric property ofthe samples to determine if the tube diameter or cap diameter of aparticular sample tube lies within the range of tube diameters or capdiameters which can be processed by a particular capper or de-capper.Thus, all samples can be sorted into groups of samples in dependence ofa range of diameters, whereby all samples within each group areprocessable by a particular capper or de-capper. Many cappers orde-cappers comprise a robotic gripper arm for capping and/or de-cappinga sample tube and are characterized by a minimum and maximum possiblegripper arm diameter. A sorting unit as described may be used toflexibly sort a plurality of sample tubes of different tube diameters orcap diameters in dependence on the requirements of the available cappersor de-cappers, thereby allowing a fully automated and at the same timehighly flexible sample processing.

In a further aspect, a sample tube can have a tube label. The tube labelcan carry tube data. The tube data can comprise at least geometric tubedata descriptive of at least one geometric property of the sample tube.

In a further aspect, a system for processing sample tubes is presented.The sample tubes can contain biological samples. At least one of thesample tubes can have a tube label attached to the sample tube thatcarries tube data. The tube data can comprise at least geometric tubedata descriptive of at least one geometric property of the sample tube.The system can comprise a reader device for reading at least thegeometric tube data from the tube label and a processing device forhandling the sample tubes comprising a controller. The reader device canbe coupled to the processing device for entering the geometric tube datainto the controller. The controller can control the processing devicedepending on the geometric tube data.

According to some embodiments, the processing device can be a de-capper,a re-capper, a cap holder or an automated centrifuge.

According to some embodiments the system can further comprise sampletubes. Each of the sample tubes can have an attached tube label carryingtube data. The tube data of each sample tube can comprise at least thegeometric tube data descriptive of at least one geometric property ofthe sample tube.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, flowchart is shown of a method forautomatically handling a sample tube 212 containing a biological sample.In a first step 102, at least geometric tube data 210 can be read from atube label by a reader device 202. The tube label can be attached to thesample tube. For example, the tube label may be an imprint having beenprinted on the surface of the sample tube during the manufacturingprocess. Likewise, the tube label may be attached to the surface of thesample tube after manufacturing, for example. by an adherent. The tubelabel can carry tube data comprising at least geometric tube datadescriptive of at least one geometric property of the sample tube. In afurther step 104, the geometric tube data read by the reader device canbe transmitted from the reader device to a processing device 218. Instep 106, the processing device can be controlled in accordance with atleast one geometric property described in the read geometric data. Forexample, the controlling step may determine, based on the cap diameterspecified in the read geometric data, which gripping position should beused by a robotic gripper 216 in order to de-cap the sample tube.

FIG. 2 schematically depicts a system 200 for handling samples. Thesystem can comprise a plurality of sample tubes 214, a reader device 202and a processing device 218. The plurality of sample tubes of differenttube types can comprise biological samples of different sample types.Sample tubes can be moved with respect to the processing device. In oneexemplary embodiment, the sample tubes can be carried on tube carriers,which may be either single tube carriers, so-called “puks”, ormulti-tube carriers, -called “tube racks”, which can comprise aplurality of tube receptacles for receiving, for example, up to fivetubes or more and typically adapted to receive different types of tubes,i.e. of variable diameter and height. According to one embodiment, theprocessing system (de-capper) can comprise a tube conveyor belt formoving sample tubes on single tube carriers and/or tube racks (notshown). The conveyor belt may comprise a transportation unit, such as atransportation band or guide driven by a motor and arranged such thatthe tubes are moved stepwise to bring one tube at a time in alignmentwith the de-capping station. The transportation unit may however movetubes on special carriers and vice versa may be customized according tothe requirements of a processing device. In some embodiments (notshown), a reformatting device for transferring sample tubes for puksand/or tube racks to these special carriers may be coupled to theprocessing device.

The plurality of samples arrives at an input position of the system andcan be transported by the conveyor belt 208 to a ‘reading position’where the label of each of the samples can be read by a reader device202. The reader device 202 can read at least geometric tube dataindicated in the tube label and can forward the read tube data to acontroller 204 as part of a processing device 218. According to oneembodiment, the reader device may be a scanner that reads optical datasuch as, for example, a 2D code, from the tube label 210 of the sampletube 212. According to another embodiment, the reader device 202 may bean RFID reader that reads data from an RFID circuit 308.2 that is partof the label 210 of the sample tube. The processing device 218 cancomprise a robotic unit 216 for executing a workflow step on the sampletube 212. Depending on the embodiment, the processing device 218 may bea unit of a pre-analytical, analytical, or post-analytical samplehandling system or a complete pre-analytical, analytical orpost-analytical workcell. The robotic unit may be a gripper controlledby the controller 204 that depends on the tube data being received bythe controller from the reader device 202. The gripper may be part of agripper unit.

According to one embodiment, the processing device can be a de-capperthat automatically de-caps the loaded sample tubes. For example, thegripper 216 can decap a plurality of different tubes having caps ofdiffering diameters, cap heights, surface textures and the like.

According to one embodiment, the gripper can be a robotic arm andcomprises an opening position 220 for receiving and/or releasing asample tube and a gripping position 222 for gripping the sample tube. Atleast the gripping position is adjusted depending on the at least onegeometric property of the sample tube.

According to some embodiments, the gripper 216 can be a robotic gripperarm that dynamically adjusts the diameter of the gripper arm to thediameter of the tube cap specified in the received tube data. Thegripper arm may have a particular default diameter in its ‘openingposition’ and may increase or diminish the diameter until the capdiameter of the sample tube is reached provided that the diameter doesnot exceed physically the given maximum or minimum diameter of thegripper 216. By adjusting the gripper arm diameter to the read capdiameter, the gripper 216 can process each of a plurality of differentsample tubes 214 having different cap diameters. Depending on theembodiment, the gripper can dynamically adjust its vertical and/orhorizontal position within the gripper unit 206 dynamically independence on the geometric data of the sample tube and thus candynamically adjust to different tube heights, tube cap heights, captextures (smoothed, grooved, etc.), cap shapes (round, polygonal) etc.

According to some embodiments wherein the tube label comprisesinformation on the number of turns required to cap or decap a sampletube, the gripper 216 may use this information for executing thede-capping step by applying the number of turns specified in thegeometric tube data of the tube label to the tube's cap.

FIG. 3 a depicts a sample tube 212 comprising a tube label 306 with abarcode 308.1. The sample tube can comprise a cap 302 which may be, forexample, a press-lock or a screw cap. The label 306 may comprise a humanreadable label section in addition to the barcode 308.1. The tube label306 may be an imprint on or may be attached to the surface 304 of thesample tube. The barcode can be a 2D code which can be read by anoptical reader device such as a scanner. The tube shaft of the depictedsample tube can comprise a tube neck 312 which may be absent in othertube types.

FIG. 3 b depicts a sample tube 212 corresponding to the sample tube ofFIG. 3 a but comprising an RFID circuit 308.2 instead of a barcode astube label. In one embodiment, the RFID circuit 308.2 can be a passiveRFID circuit receiving its energy via the antenna 314 attached to thesample tube and to the RFIC circuit. The corresponding reading devicecan be a RFID reader. The RFID reader or another device can generate anelectromagnetic field acting as energy source for the RFID circuit. Whenthe RFID circuit is moved into the electromagnetic field, the RFIDcircuit can derive, via its antenna 314, enough energy to send the tubedata stored on the RFID circuit via the antenna to the RFID readerdevice.

FIG. 4 depicts various parts of a sample tube. The sample tube can havean inner tube diameter 404 and an outer tube diameter 406. The height ofa tube cap as visible from the outside of the tube (which may cover someparts of the tube shaft) is referred to as free height of the tube cap408. A cap may not be present in every tube type, but every tubecomprises a tube shaft of a particular tube shaft length. The lengthdistance from the bottom of the tube to the top of the tube cap (or thetop of the tube shaft in case of tubes lacking a cap) is referred hereinas tube length 414. The tube shaft length 410 of a tube lacking a cap isidentical to its tube length. The outside diameter of the tube cap asseen from a bird's eye perspective is referred to as ‘diameter of thetube cap’ 412.

FIG. 5 schematically depicts a further system 500 for automated samplehandling. The system can comprise a plurality of sample tubes 214, areader device 202 and another processing device 514. The processingdevice can comprise a tube gripping unit 522 with a tube gripper 502, adecapping unit 524 with a tube cap gripper 508, a pipetting unit with apipettor 516 and a re-capping unit 528 with a re-caper 518. Theprocessing device 514 can be a fully automated sample workcell thattransports a plurality of samples 214 via a conveyor belt 208 or otherrobotic transportation facility. The tube gripper 502 can be a roboticarm controlled in dependence on the geometric property of the sampletube's shape, for example, the outer tube diameter or the tube height,but not the geometric properties of the tube's cap (if any). Thecontroller may specify the position of the gripping arms of the tubegripper in accordance with geometric tube data received from the readerdevice 202. Two different positions of the gripper arms, an openingposition 506 and a gripping position 504, can be indicated by two dottedarrows. The cap gripper 508 of the de-capping unit 522 and also the capgripper 518 of the re-capping unit 528 respectively can be robotic armscontrolled in dependence on the geometric property of the sample tube'scap, for example., the cap diameter or the free height of the tube cap.Some geometric properties of the tube, such as, for example, its height,may also be used by the cap grippers to dynamically adjust the verticalposition of the cap grippers to the tube cap height

According to some embodiments, the tube gripper 502 can position thetube for enabling the cap gripper 508 to de-cap the positioned sampletube. Once the cap has been successfully removed from the sample tube,the pipettor 516 may suck aliquots from the sample or pipet a reagentinto the sample. According to some embodiments, the controller 204 canuse at least some of the geometric data read from the sample tube label210 to calculate the volume that can be sucked from or added to thesample tube 212″ without touching the tube bottom and withoutoverloading the sample tube with liquid. The sample tube can then beautomatically forwarded from the pipetting unit 526 to a re-capping unit528 wherein a cap gripper 518 having different gripping diameters 530,532 can add a new cap onto the sample tube 212″. The final sample tube212′″ may be transported by the conveyor belt to a storage unit (notshown). The various sample processing units 522, 524, 526 and 528 may bepart of the same or of multiple different hardware modules orlab-devices.

It is noted that terms like “preferably,” “commonly,” and “typically”are not utilized herein to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments orto imply that certain features are critical, essential, or evenimportant to the structure or function of the claimed embodiments.Rather, these terms are merely intended to highlight alternative oradditional features that may or may not be utilized in a particularembodiment of the present disclosure.

Having described the present disclosure in detail and by reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications andvariations are possible without departing from the scope of thedisclosure defined in the appended claims. More specifically, althoughsome aspects of the present disclosure are identified herein aspreferred or particularly advantageous, it is contemplated that thepresent disclosure is not necessarily limited to these preferred aspectsof the disclosure.

I claim:
 1. A system for processing sample tubes , the sample tubescontaining biological samples, each of the sample tubes having a tubelabel attached, the tube label carrying tube data, the tube datacomprising at least geometric tube data being descriptive of at leastone internal geometric property of the sample tube, the systemcomprising: a reader device for reading and transmitting the at leastthe geometric tube data from the tube labels; a processing device forhandling the sample tubes; and a controller for receiving thetransmitted geometric tube data from the reader device and controllingthe processing device based on the transmitted geometric data.
 2. Thesystem according to claim 1, further comprising, a sample sorting unitin communication with the controller, wherein the sample sorting unitsorts the sample tubes into groups based on a shared geometric propertywithin a predefined range before proceeding to the processing device. 3.The system according to claim 2, wherein the predefined range determinesthe processing device to be used.
 4. The system according to claim 2,wherein the predefined range is a range of sample tube diameters.
 5. Thesystem according to claim 2, wherein the predefined range is a range ofsample tube cap diameters.
 6. The system according to claim 2, whereinthe processing device is a capper or decapper.
 7. The system accordingto claim 6, wherein the predefined range for each capper or decapper isa minimum and maximum possible gripper arm diameter for that capper ordecapper.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneinternal geometric property of the sample tube comprises at least one ofan inner tube diameter, a location of a false bottom, and a shape of afalse bottom.
 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the geometrictube data comprises outer sample tube diameter, inner sample tubediameter, false bottom location, false bottom shape and sample tubelength.
 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the type of sampletube being processed is derived from the geometric tube data.
 11. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the controller adjusts the amountof biological sample collected from the sample tube based on thetransmitted geometric data.
 12. The system according to claim 1, whereinthe systems comprises more than one processing device.
 13. A method forhandling sample tubes containing biological sample, a tube label beingattached to each of the sample tubes, the tube labels carrying tubedata, the tube data comprising at least geometric tube data beingdescriptive of at least one internal geometric property of each of thesample tubes, the method comprising: reading at least the geometric tubedata from the tubes label by a reader device; transmitting at least thegeometric tube data from the reader device to a controller; andcontrolling a processing device for handling the sample tubes inaccordance with the at least one internal geometric property describedby the read geometric data from the controller.
 14. The method accordingto claim 13, further comprising, sorting the sample tubes based on ashared geometric property within a predefined range before the sampletubes are handled by the processing device.
 15. The method according toclaim 14, wherein the predefined range determines which processingdevice handles the sample tubes.
 16. The method according to claim 14,wherein the processing device caps or recaps the sample tubes.
 17. Themethod according to claim 16, wherein the processing device caps orrecaps the sample tubes with a robotic arm.
 18. The method according toclaim 17, wherein the robotic arm has a minimum and maximum gripper armdiameter.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the minimum and maximumgripper arm diameter defines the predefined range.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 13, further comprising, adjusting the amount ofbiological sample collected from the sample tube based on the readgeometric data.